UNEP awards 2025 Champions of the Earth to Tamil Nadu's Sahu

The United Nations Environment Programme conferred its 2025 Champions of the Earth Award in the "Inspiration and Action" category on IAS officer Supriya Sahu for large-scale ecosystem restoration and cooling innovations in Tamil Nadu. The recognition positions sub-national climate action and state-led ESG governance as a replicable model for India's other states and the wider Global South.

UNEP conferred its highest environmental honour, the 2025 Champions of the Earth Award, on Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary for Tamil Nadu's Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests. Under her leadership, the state launched "Green Missions" backed by the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company, India's first state-owned, not-for-profit climate vehicle. These programmes planted over 100 million trees, established 65 new reserve forests, and doubled the state's mangrove cover. A US$60 million Endangered Species Conservation Fund safeguards species including the dugong and slender loris, while Ramsar-listed wetlands expanded from one to 20 sites.

The recognition affects state governments, public-sector administrators, and investors evaluating sub-national and sovereign risk in India. Sahu's initiatives created approximately 2.5 million green jobs and enhanced climate resilience for nearly 12 million people. The Cool Roof Project, implemented in 200 public "green schools," uses reflective white paint and ventilation to reduce indoor temperatures by up to 8 degrees Celsius, protecting vulnerable students from urban heat. The model demonstrates how political will and integrated "climate budgeting" translate global goals such as SDG 13 and SDG 15 into local economic and social outcomes.

Other Indian states and Global South governments should examine Tamil Nadu's integrated approach combining administrative efficiency with private and community participation as a benchmark for operationalising climate strategy. Investors evaluating regional risk should monitor measurable outcomes such as job creation, resilience coverage, and biodiversity gains as indicators of effective sub-national environmental governance. Affected entities should track replication of state-owned climate vehicles, cool-roof cooling interventions, and conservation funds that translate climate strategy into economic opportunity while mitigating climate-related social instability risks.

Key figure — Green jobs created: approximately 2.5 million